26. Dean Kamen

26. Dean Kamen

You may not be familiar with the name of eccentric millionaire Dean Kamen, but you will know his most famous invention - the Segway. Kamen has achieved far more in his life than just creating the Segway, but even if he never did anything else, that creation will keep all of his bills paid forever. Kamen paid an eye-wateringly high price of $2.5m for a tiny two-acre island called North Dumpling off the east coast of the USA in 1986. He wanted to build a wind turbine to fuel it, but New York refused to give him permission, so he did the only sensible thing. He declared independence.

Kamen's old friend (and then-serving President) George Bush jokingly signed a treaty of non-aggression between the USA and Dumpling Island, and from there Kamen has created a flag, a miniature replica of Stonehenge, a national anthem, a daily newspaper, and a one-boat navy. Visitors to his island are invited to commemorate the occasion by leaving an imprint of their own buttocks. No, we're not joking!

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Did You Know...

I

Most of your favorite celebrities either studied acting in college or went straight from high school into a life of the arts. But, hey, not all of them. Some celebrities actually have advanced college degrees.

II

Turns out Mayim Bialik is just as much of a genius as the one she plays on The Big Bang Theory. She earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of California, Los Angeles, focusing on obsessive compulsive disorder among people with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare condition in which the hypothalamus malfunctions.

III

Little known fact: Natalie Portman skipped the premiere of Star Wars: Phantom Menace because she was studying for her high school exams. She had two papers published in scientific journals while she was still in high school, and graduated from Harvard University with a B.A. in Psychology.

IV

Before he was looking for answers on X-Files, David Duchovny was just trying to find the answers for English finals at Princeton University90. David graduated from Princeton in 1982 with a B.A in English. He continued to feed his love of literature by receiving a master’s degree in English Literature at Yale University. David was an excellent writer and poet. His work consistently received praise by his fellow classmates and teachers at Yale. His writing was even nominated for a college prize by the Academy of American Poets.

V

Sigourney Weaver graduated from Stanford University in 1971 with a bachelor’s in Literature. It was while studying at Stanford that Sigourney realized her true passion in life was to become an actress. Shortly after graduation, she attended Yale for their well-known drama program. She would go on to receive a master’s in Acting from Yale University and become friends with fellow famous actress Meryl Streep.

VI

Meryl Streep is considered one of the most successful actresses of all time. She is also one of the most highly educated. Before collecting an array of Oscars, Meryl collected diplomas. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in 1971. Meryl has a habit of being unsatisfied with impressive accomplishments as her acting career has shown, so she attended Yale University and earned a master’s degree in Acting.

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